Preseason Interview with Matt Sherman and Joe Scibelli
HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's basketball team opens the 2016-17 season on Tuesday with a rematch against Penn State-Harrisburg. The Fords will be a young team which features six sophomores and six freshmen. However, returning to the team are six different players who started at least 10 games last season.
The lone senior on the team, captain Matt Sherman, will provide leadership to his young teammates. Sherman was an honorable mention All-Centennial Conference selection during his sophomore season before missing most of last season. He needs just 296 points to reach the 1,000 point plateau. He scored 387 points when he led the team by averaging 15.5 points per game on his way to earning all-conference recognition. Sherman has started 50 times in his 61 career games, averaging 11.5 points per game during that time.
The junior class features the duo of Josh Fried and Jeremy Evans. Fried made seven starts in his 22 games last season. He already ranks ninth in school history with 49 denials in his first two seasons. He blocked 39 shots a year ago for the fifth-highest single season mark in program history. Jeremy Evans will return to the team for the second half of the season after studying abroad during the first semester. He has appeared in 33 games during his first two seasons. Evans came off the bench to hit five three-pointers last year.
The six-member sophomore class will be looking for a continued presence after each player saw time during their freshmen campaigns. Highlighting that group was the program's first Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year Joe Scibelli. He appeared in all 25 games last year and made a career-high 22 starts. Scibelli ranked second on the team in scoring with 11.5 points per game while breaking the school record for defensive rebounds in a single season (151). His classmate, Kahlil Garnes, led the team in scoring with 12.2 points per game. His scoring output featured 15 games with 10 or more points and six outings where he finished with 20 or more.
Kyle Goldfarb worked himself into a full-time starting role during the second half of last season. He averaged 4.1 points per game in his first year at Haverford. Sam Stogdon also established himself as a starter for the Fords down the stretch last year. During the 10 games he was in the starting lineup, Stogdon averaged 6.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Chris Glazer appeared in 11 games while Kofi Kwakwa played in seven games. Both will look for expanded roles in their second season.
Looking to add to the front court this season, the Fords' six freshmen feature four players who are 6-foot-5 or taller. Jack Cork tops that group at 6-foot-6 while classmates Michael Wiper, Jonathan Lang, and Grayson Roth will also look to contribute at forward. Joe Hartman and Joe Wujciak will vie for minutes with the returning guards on the team.
Men's basketball starts the season with five of its first six games on the road. The home opener is set for Tuesday, November 22 against Ursinus which will also be the Centennial Conference opener. In total, Haverford will play 11 games inside the Gooding '84 Arena. In addition to home and away games with each of the conference's nine opponents, the Fords will host Sarah Lawrence and Rutgers-Camden during the month of January.
The 2016-17 season will be head coach Michael Mucci's 22nd season leading the Fords. The all-time winningest coach in program history will be joined on staff by assistant coaches Rudy Wise, Cory Jacobson and Doug Young.